“Jarhead” is based on the best-selling memoir by Anthony Swofford about his experiences as a Marine before and during the Gulf War. The movie is in a long tradition of soldier training-and-action tales, often centering on the Marines, going back to the silent era and Lon Chaney’s “Tell It to the Marines.” The late 1940s brought “Sands of Iwo Jima” with John Wayne. In the 1950s there was “The Halls of Montezuma” with Richard Widmark; later came “Platoon” and “G.I. Jane.” In terms of story, “Jarhead” isn’t distinctly different from the films that came before, but it has one central difference: here our platoon of gung-ho volunteers never gets into a battle.

As he narrates, Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) reports for duty at Camp Pendleton in 1989. He tells us that after a man has been to battle with a rifle, his hands never forget the rifle. As he’s immediately hazed upon entering his platoon’s barracks, Swofford sourly narrates that maybe joining the Marine Corps may have been a bad decision.

They’re under the command of Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx), who’s tough but fair, quickly recognizing that Swofford might have some potential, particularly as a sniper. Swofford is a bit brighter than the rest—at least he’s reading Camus’ “The Stranger”—and becomes friendly with Alan Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), a cynic with complex motivations. The platoon raucously watches “Apocalypse Now,” cheering and hooting during the helicopter scene. They know the point of view of the film, but they have their own perspective—Semper Fi! Hoo-rah!

Saddam Hussein’s army invades Iraq, and it’s quickly apparent that the U.S. will be part of the effort to drive the Iraqis out. This is fine with the young Marines, including Swofford and Troy. Swofford comes from a long family tradition of Marines, and wants to prove himself in battle. Troy’s motivations are darker; it seems at times that he just wants to kill someone.

When they reach the Arabian desert, their enthusiasm begins to wane,
since they don’t do very much except patrol a vast empty plain, hydrate
(they drink their canteens dry), dehydrate (they piss), march,
masturbate and argue. Tempers begin to fray; Swofford, ordinarily easy
going, gets furiously, almost murderously, angry with a mild-mannered
soldier. Sykes is still with them, still trying to keep their youthful
energies and enthusiasms in check, or at least directed to
non-destructive ends.

Finally, something happens—the camp is shelled, though no one is
killed. Overhead they see planes taking on the enemy, and envy the
pilots. But later when they find the remains of a fleeing convoy of
civilians apparently destroyed by allied planes, they don’t know how to
respond. There are charred bodies everywhere, looking peaceful and not
quite human. Trucks, buses and cars have been burned to rust and pale
sand.

There’s no climax in “Jarhead.” The story ends realistically but
abruptly, leaving these eager soldiers without any way of expressing
their eagerness.

Mendes, best known for “American Beauty,” directs in a matter-of-fact
style with occasional more hallucinatory images (as when Swofford
dreams he vomits a sinkful of sand). The color is washed
out—peculiarly, even in the Camp Pendleton scenes—reduced to the palate
of desert camouflage: pale tans, light beiges, occasional browns.
Periodically, the screen tells us how many days the platoon has been in
the desert, how many troops total have arrived.

TV reporters—always seen at a distance—arrive and interview some of the
troops, including Swofford and his buddies. TV backfires when one guy
prepares to show a tape of “The Deer Hunter” his wife has sent him—only
to discover that it’s an especially graphic Dear John letter instead.
Swofford has to clean latrines, ordered to halt while an officer
(Dennis Haysbert) leaves him a little gift. Busywork is the order of
the day; letters from home assume enlarged importance.

They wander, almost dazed by their experiences, through the desert as
the oil wells catch on fire and rain oil on our Marines. Swofford
encounters a puzzled, lost, oil-soaked horse that wanders away, still
lost, still looking for a kind human hand. Though the Marines have
orders they follow, they have no more sense of purpose than the
confused horse.

It’s an expansive-looking film, though Camp Pendleton and the desert in
Arabia resemble one another; perhaps the earlier scenes shouldn’t have
had the color so desaturated. The song score is very well chosen, but
the sound engineering is uneven. Filmmakers look at their footage over
and over until it becomes so familiar to them they’ve lost the ability
to hear it with unbiased attention. So often, as here, audiences have
trouble understanding a lot of the lines—but the filmmakers, being used
to the lines, think they’ve laid down an acceptable track.

Though all the actors are very good, especially Sarsgaard, “Jarhead”
doesn’t get into their unconscious. Even Swofford remains remote, and
he’s the narrator. The movie is told entirely in anecdotes, and has
almost no story per se. Usually, this kind of film builds to a big
battle scene in which the central character gets to prove his mettle as
a Marine—but there are no battle scenes. The young Marines are just
left hanging, soldiers without a war, all gung ho and nowhere to go.

[Written by AVRev] [START]
"Jarhead" is presented on a BD-25 Blu-ray disc with a 1080p/VC-1
transfer. This transfer appears to be the same as the previously
released HD DVD. The film is desaturated in terms of color,
intentionally of course. The visual style resembles that of "Three
Kings" and "Black Hawk Down." The desert light and style results in a
lack of any type of fleshtone color. So while the image appears bland
and drained of color, it is part of the visual, but perhaps a little
too much. The details are sharp, and the black levels are stable. The
contrast is overblown most of the time. Surprisingly, there are no
compression artifacts despite the length of the film being crammed on a
25GB disc. Overall, an average video presentation.

The audio is slightly better than the video. It is presented on a
DTS-HD 5.1 audio track, upgraded from the HD DVD's Dolby Digital Plus
release. Despite being a war film, the film is primarily dialogue.
Dialogue is strong and crisp in the center channel. The front
soundscape is wide, with clear separation between effects and music.
The surrounds have been given a boost in this high-res audio track.
While not totally enveloping, they are much improved over the HD DVD
release. The LFE channel is strong, adding a warm low end to the
material. The dynamic range is suitable for this dialogue film. The
only thing that prevents this track from getting a higher rating is the
lack of material present.

Universal has skimped on the supplement materials for the Blu-ray
edition. The HD DVD release came with all the bonus materials
presented on the two-disc standard DVD version. All but the audio
commentaries have been dropped in this Blu-ray release. The first
audio commentary is with director Sam Mendes. Sam is a unique
individual, making him difficult to listen to. Still the commentary is
full of information. The second audio commentary is with screenwriter
William Broyles Jr. and author Anthony Swofford. A lot of the same
material presented by Mendes is included in this commentary. The
commentary is well thought out and presented. That's it in terms of
bonus features. [END]

“Jarhead” is one of the few movies about soldiers that’s neither
pro-military nor anti-war; it shows us the life of a Marine in the
desert in 1989, and allows us to draw our own conclusions. But the
conclusion of the film—we’re still out in the desert—can’t apply to us,
even metaphorically. It remains a report from a shimmering, sandy front.